Darryl can’t talk to me about his job without cracking a smiling. It’s clear he loves working as a cook at a hotel in Northern Kentucky. He’s passionate about food and preparing it for others. But his happiness comes with a story; a life change that was made possible by people like you.

Darryl is recovering from an addiction. “I had myself in bondage,” Darryl tells me, as we sit on a park bench outside his work. “The addiction had me in bondage. I couldn’t get away from it, because it was everywhere.”

Darryl was craving a better life, a life he was determined to have. With the support of friends and family, he enrolled in the Freestore Foodbank’s Cincinnati Cooks program, a free 10-week course that prepares students for work in the food service industry. Darryl was ready to take a new direction.

“When I got in there, I was home. It seems like I was at the right place at the right time.”

Darryl tells me Cincinnati Cooks played a humungous part in his life change, teaching him not only about cooking, but also about teamwork, tackling challenges and how to make a better life for himself.

“I’m grateful for it!”

Darryl will celebrate his two year anniversary as a hotel cook in April. He no longer receives help from the Freestore Foodbank.

“My life isn’t as complicated as it used to be, I don’t have to worry about things like I did before.”

Darryl’s drive has never been stronger. Because of your generosity to fund program like Cincinnati Cooks, Darryl now has direction and stability.

“I go through the old neighborhoods I used to hang in and I see a lot of my friends. After like 25 years, they are still out there. It was time for me to remove myself from that and do something better in life. Food is my career now. It has changed my life.”